These nubby scrumptious pancakes are a protein rich, gluten free Indo Mexican meal in under 20 minutes!
Last week we went to New Orleans for a quick vacation. This was my first trip there and I enjoyed the architecture, culture and of course the food! I will write about it and share pictures soon.
I am not sure what exactly happens to me, but from the moment I leave home to go to the airport, I am looking to eat all kinds of food at every opportunity I get. We had an early morning flight so that meant my vacationing self could have 5 meals that day starting with a big breakfast at Logan airport, in Boston itself! Then there was an amazing array of foods in New Orleans which I simply had to have 🙂 Needless to say, when I rolled back home, my scale was not kind to me. So now I am back to my ‘scrumptious yet healthy meals ‘mode.
Protein rich and gluten free, besan or chickpea flour is a very common ingredient in Indian cooking. Mention the word besan and it conjures up mouthwatering dishes like bhajiyas or fritters, vadas, sev etc… all very moreish but they are all deep fried and I lack the sense of portion control 😦
So, I had to come up with a healthier, protein rich besan dish with my favorite ingredients. Enter Indian Mexican fusion pancake, which checked off Indfused’s boxes for a scrumptious, healthier, quick and easy, filling meal.
You may change the topping to your liking. I am sharing with you the one I absolutely don’t get tired of eating. A combination of black beans, roasted corn, tomatoes, onions, cilantro and avocado. This is a quick and easy meal and so filling!
Besan Pancake with Black Beans and Roasted Corn
Ingredients
- 1 cup besan or gram/chickpea flour
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon roasted cumin seed powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder (or to taste)
- Salt to taste
- 1 & 1/3 cup water
- 1 egg, beaten
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- About 3 teaspoons oil to make the pancake
Topping-
- Cooked black beans + roasted corn + small onion diced + diced tomato + avocado + cilantro + salt
To serve- Salsa or chutney. I served them with Mango and Red Pepper Chutney! Yummy!
To make the Besan Pancake with Black Beans and Roasted Corn-
- Combine the besan, turmeric, cumin and chili powders. Add the salt. Whisk in the water and the beaten egg. Set aside.
- Combine the ingredients for the topping and keep them ready.
- Add the baking soda and whisk it in the batter when you are ready to make the pancakes.
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat with ½ teaspoon of oil. Add about ½ cup of the batter and 1/6 of the topping. Cover the pan and let the pancake cook over low heat for about 4 ~5 minutes or until cooked and golden brown on the bottom. Flip the pancake and let the top cook for another minute.
- Serve with readymade salsa or a chutney. I served them with Mango and Red Pepper Chutney Yummy!
- Repeat with the other 5 pancakes.
- Enjoy the nubby pancakes laden with fiber rich black beans and roasted corn!
Note- These pancakes can be made without adding the egg. The texture of the pancake will differ, but still taste awesome.
Enjoy these besan pancakes for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner!
Have a great weekend all,
Love
❤
Sandhya
indfused.com 
Very creative! Looks amazing! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much!
LikeLike
Tats looks Yummy.. definitely gonna try
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much Rama. Do let me know how you like it!
LikeLike
Sure
LikeLike
It always surprises me how versatile besan flour is Sandhya – and these pancakes look fantastic!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Laura. Yes, I like the taste and the fact that besan is gluten free and rich in protein makes it A+ for me 😉
LikeLike
Never tried Besan… you make it look so easy!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Besan pancakes?! What a great idea, Sandhya! 👏
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much Angie! I love the taste of savory besan pancakes and it adds protein too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looks awesome and I am sure it tastes as good as it looks.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much Anuradha.
LikeLike
This really looks SOooooo good! New pancake ideas, especially savory, are always welcome!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much! I am a big fan of the besan (yellow split peas)flour savory pancakes for flavor and the protein content compared to apf pancakes. The Tomato omlette I have on the blog is another savory pancake which is very popular in the Western part of India
LikeLike
What a clever thought Sandhya – besan pancakes! I love how colorful and healthy these look. I think it will make a great snack or meal with all those toppings. This, I must try! Thanks for the inspiration, one can really go to town with anything they have on hand. Great share!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi loretta,
I thought I replied to your sweet comment but i don’t see it here…
Anyways, thanks so much. These protein pancakes are yummy and like you said they are ready to receive whatever toppings we like!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely right about these being filling! I was only sorry I didn’t have tomatoes for the topping — at this time of year, they just don’t taste right to me so I don’t buy them. Without them the pancakes (my first ever Besan pancakes) tasted a little dry. So I am saving this as a summer/fall recipe. Thank you for sharing 😊
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much Joelle. Yes tomatoes are not that great now. Do try it in the summer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Sandhya,
Such a creative and healthy recipe! Do you use the canned black beans? And how do you roast the corn? Thank you for sharing such fabulous recipes!
LikeLike
Thanks Jui! I usually soak and cook and whole batch of black beans. They freeze well. I roast corn on the grill in the summer and in a cast iron pan indoors. Trader Joes also has roasted corn in their frozen section.
LikeLike